Israel judo team withdraws from Uzbekistan competition over safety

The Israeli national judo team withdrew from a major competition in Uzbekistan by order of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency due to safety concerns after the country declared war against Iran. 

The Israel Judo Association (IJA), widely considered the country’s most successful Olympic sports program, was forced to depart the Tashkent Grand Slam and leave Uzbekistan, as tensions mount amid Israel’s attack on Iran, and Iran’s subsequent counterstrike, according to The Jerusalem Post. 

The recent strikes between Israel and Iran have resulted in disruptions to both countries’ sports teams. 

Israel’s national gymnastics team has suspended all training and team activities amid the recent Iranian counterattack on the country following the U.S.-assisted strikes on Iran. 

The Israel Gymnastics Federation (IGF) provided a statement to Fox News Digital announcing the violence has caused “unavoidable disruptions.” 

“The current security situation in our region has resulted in unavoidable disruptions to our regular training schedule and has created significant uncertainty regarding the national teams’ professional plans, particularly as we are at the outset of the international season,” the statement read. 

“At this time, all training activities have been temporarily suspended, pending approval from the relevant authorities to safely resume operations,” it continued. “Naturally, the suspension of training and the closure of airspace are causing considerable stress and concern. However, the safety and well-being of our gymnasts and professional staff remain our highest priority. We sincerely hope for safer and calmer days ahead, when we can focus solely on sport.”

A source within the team told Fox News Digital on Saturday that the gymnasts have been moving between bomb shelters since Iran’s counterstrikes began. 

Meanwhile, Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran President Mehdi Taj, suggested his team will not compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

“What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” Taj told sports portal Varzesh3 on Sunday. “The US regime has attacked our homeland, and this is an incident that will not go unanswered.”

“We’ll deal with soccer games tomorrow—tonight, we celebrate their opportunity for freedom,” Andrew Guiliani, the director of the White House World Cup task force, wrote on X on Saturday.

FIFA also noted it will be monitoring the situation with Iran. 

The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has directed all U.S. government employees and their family members to continue to shelter in place, either in or near their residences as Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel.

Iranian airstrikes killed at least eight Israelis on Sunday as Tehran’s latest missile barrage landed just miles from Jerusalem.

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Iran’s military has carried out counterattacks against Israel and U.S. bases in the Middle East after a joint U.S.-Israeli strike killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday.

The strikes also killed several other top Iranian leaders, including the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

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